


Growing Pains

by silentdescant



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Arguing, Domestic, Established Relationship, Future Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-03
Updated: 2014-01-03
Packaged: 2018-01-07 07:17:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1117076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silentdescant/pseuds/silentdescant
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jensen and Jared have been together a long time, but they still clash occasionally.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Growing Pains

**Author's Note:**

> One of my resolutions was to write a little bit each day. Yesterday I continued a fic that was already in progress. Today I wrote this. I'm trying to be chill and not a perfectionist about it, so there will hopefully be more in this unplanned and unbeta'd vein.

Jared slammed his textbook shut with a loud, heavy sigh. It was meant to call attention to him, and Jensen was not going to give in. He turned the volume up on the TV by a few points; now that Jared was apparently done concentrating, he wanted to actually be able to hear the movie.

Jared sighed again. Jensen still didn’t look at him. Unfortunately, what was on TV at the moment was a horrendously-acted commercial for a completely unnecessary kitchen gadget.

“You’re the worst, you know that,” Jared muttered.

Jensen shrugged.

“What are you watching?”

“Oh, you actually want to know now?” Jensen asked. “It’s not too loud for you? It’s not distracting you from something you need to finish?”

“Would you stop? I’m quiet when you need quiet. It’s not too much to ask that you do the same for me, you know. Jensen, you know how stressed out I am right now. Could you just cut me a little bit of slack? Just a little, you know, just enough to get by?”

Jensen took a breath. Everyone was always telling him to breathe, so he’d fucking breathe.

“Thank you,” Jared said. He still sounded angry about it, but at least it was sincere.

“It’s Jeff’s new movie,” Jensen said grudgingly. “It’s over in twenty minutes, though.”

“I’ll catch it next time. I’m going to bed, you coming?”

“What, you’re not gonna stay down here all night, studying?” Out of the corner of his eye, Jensen saw Jared’s jaw clench.

“I have a midterm tomorrow, I have to be up early.”

“I’ll be up when it’s over.”

“I’ll be asleep by then. G’night.”

“Night.”

When he heard Jared’s footsteps trail all the way upstairs and into the bedroom, Jensen dropped his head forward into his hands with a long, drawn-out sigh. He heard Jeff’s voice on the TV and entertained the idea of calling him up, but while Jensen was in between projects, Jeff was consistently busy and probably needed his sleep. No matter how long it had been since they’d caught up, Jeff wouldn’t appreciate being woken up in the middle of the night to listen to Jensen’s frustrated not-talking.

He turned off the TV. He hadn’t been paying close enough attention anyway.

Jared was, of course, still awake when Jensen got upstairs. He looked up from his novel, shocked. “Has it been twenty minutes already?”

Jensen shook his head. “Good luck on your test tomorrow,” he said.

“Thanks.”

Jared read another two pages of his book while Jensen undressed and brushed his teeth. He put it on the nightstand as Jensen climbed into bed, and they turned off their lights at the same time. They weren’t close enough to touch, but Jensen could feel heat emanating from Jared. He rolled over to face him and found Jared staring up at the dark ceiling.

“I’m sorry I’ve been so… busy,” he whispered. “I just gotta get through this year, okay? I just gotta finish my thesis and these last two classes and then I’ll be done, but I need you with me, Jensen. Please.”

“I miss the way we used to be,” Jensen admitted, just as quiet. “Even when we were both busy doing different things, I miss… I miss doing _the same things_ , you know?” He missed working with Jared. He missed being able to relate to Jared at all.

“You’re not acting anymore,” Jared replied defensively.

“I know.”

“I’m not a director, Jensen. I’m not a musician, I’m not a singer—”

“I know, but _I’m_ not a fucking neuroscientist.”

“Behavioral psychologist,” Jared corrected under his breath, like Jensen knew the fucking difference. Neuroscience was Jared’s undergrad focus, Jensen remembered then.

“Good luck on your test,” Jensen said again. He turned away, closed his eyes, and listened to Jared breathe, hoping it would lull him to sleep. His only worry was that Jared would try to continue the conversation.

He didn’t.

Jensen woke up the next morning to a post-it note on his coffee mug that read _I still love you_ in Jared’s loopy handwriting. He checked the clock: just past nine-thirty. Still time before Jared’s exam. He hit speed dial.

“Jay, I don’t care if you bomb this test,” Jensen said without preamble, “I’m taking you out to celebrate tonight. But I bet you fifty bucks you ace it.”

“I ain’t jinxing myself by betting,” Jared replied with a laugh.

“I still love you too, God knows why. I’ve given up hope of that ever changing, so it looks like you’re stuck with me, bad temper and all.”

“Eh, I got used to your bad temper about eighteen years ago.”

Jensen closed his eyes. “I’m sorry I’ve been such a dick,” he said quickly. “It’s just hard for me to deal with, sometimes. How much things have changed.”

“For me, too,” Jared replied, quiet and knowing. “But we’ll get used to it. I promise.”

“You got a fancy scientific reason to be so sure?”

“I’m sure I could dig something up.” Jared was silent for a couple beats, then he said, “Thanks for calling.”

It took Jensen just slightly too long to reply, with put-on annoyance, “Oh, go ace your damn test. I’ll see you when you get back.”

 

_fin_.


End file.
